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Note - most stories are fictional and do not refer to anyone in particular living or dead. True stories will say they are true!

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

JASON CHAPTER 6

After receiving the invite
over for dinner, I thought, "This is it, either yes or no.

Either the family will accept me or reject
me.” The one thing for sure was I had
faced life or death situations before, and this was not going to shake me
whatever the outcome was.

I arrived at six o'clock with
dinner expected at six thirty, which would give time to talk before dinner if
they wanted to.

I was ushered into the
living room by Carme's younger brother, as he sat opposite me and also did her
older brother while they decided to play the stare him down game, which I
completely ignored. I hadn’t come here
to play some one up-man-ship game with them.

While sitting there my mind
went back to the time when I first met Carme.

I had left out some of the
details about our first meeting.When I
was first brought into the hospital she was going over my background records to
make sure they were right, and I was the person they were dealing with.

I told her that I had never
heard the name Carme before and she curtly answered, “There are probably a lot
of things you have never known before.” I
replied, “Yes, I didn't know how sassy you were. Are all Portuguese women as sassy as you?” She answered and said, “Yes and a lot sassier.”I said,
“Ouch, I give up, you win!”

And about this time I felt
weakness come over me and I was on the verge of collapsing. This was happening
quite often and I was being treated for it.

Putting my head on the edge
of her desk I tried to steady myself with my hands. At first Carme thought I was faking, but then she
realized I needed help, so she called for two orderlies and a wheel chair.

The next day I woke up in a
ward with several other sailors who were wounded. That afternoon she came to see me and asked
how I was coming along. I told her I was
doing okay and would be back on my feet very soon. She asked, “What happened?”

I said, “Your beauty was more
than I could handle and I passed out from just looking at you.” Then I told her I wanted to marry her.She blushed and said, “This is so sudden I
will have to ask my boyfriend and see what he thinks about it.” We both laughed and she left.

I returned from thinking
about the past, and I was still waiting for the answer to the question, "Will
you marry me."

The father came from
somewhere and said "Dinner is ready." The food was fine but my
appetite had all but left me, and no one spoke except to say pass me this or
that. I was glad when it was over for I
wanted to get down to the business at hand.

It was back into the living
room and the dad had joined us still with no conversation, just hard stares. I thought this should be a joyous time and it
seemed like a wake without any booze to liven things up. I would like to have
taken those brothers outside and whipped them both but in the shape I was in I
couldn't have handled one of them with their hands tied behind their back.

The women came in and we sat
there for a few minutes without anyone saying anything. I had enough of this
foolishness, and stood up and said, “Thank you for the meal but I must be going,”
and started to leave when the father spoke up and said, “We must discuss
something before you leave.” “And what would that be?” I answered.

The Dad said, “You want to marry Carme?” I
said “Yes!”

He then said. “You are a
soldier and there is a war going on, yes?”

I didn't bother to correct him and say I'm not
a soldier but a sailor.

I said, “There
is a war going on but life goes on even though men are being killed on every
hand.” He said because you are a soldier
and there is a war we believe it would be better not to marry until it is over
and you are working at a regular job.

I could see I was trapped in
an old culture where the parent's wishes trumped whatever the kids wanted to
do.

Ring courtesy
photobucket.com

I took from my pocket a ring
I had bought for Carme, and gave it to her and said, “You think over what you
want to do. I leave tomorrow and if you want to marry me, you put the ring on
before I leave and if not then just throw it away like you will be throwing our
life together away.”

The brothers seemed
riled about what I said but didn't touch me as I left.

They had been warned not
to hurt me in any way because of my saving several men when our ship was sunk. I was considered a mini hero and they would
have had half of the Navy down on them.